Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in the country's eastern coastal city of Hangzhou on Saturday and host a welcoming event for visiting foreign dignitaries.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday, Xi is scheduled to be in Hangzhou on Friday and Saturday to attend the opening and reception as well as a series of bilateral talks.

The list of major dignitaries announced by Beijing includes South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

While it has been customary for Cabinet ministers to head the South Korean government's delegation to the Asian Games, the attendance of the prime minister is interpreted as a display of Seoul's resolve to improve relations with Beijing.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, who recently met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, conveyed Seoul's intent to resume a trilateral summit with the leaders of China and Japan within the year after a four-year hiatus.